


Love Is A Feature, Not A Bug

by Smokeycut



Category: overwatch
Genre: Mutual Pining, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 22:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12220530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smokeycut/pseuds/Smokeycut
Summary: Some time after joining Overwatch, Zarya and Lynx run into each other again. Working together, they won't be able to hide their feelings forever.





	Love Is A Feature, Not A Bug

Aleksandra Zaryanova walked through the underground tunnels that had begun serving as Overwatch's new base of operations. Her heavy boots clanked against the metal floors until she reached what was once a subway platform, but now served as a common room for the secret organization's members to mingle. Fareeha, Angela, Genji and Jesse were playing poker around a small table in the corner. Wilhelm and Torbjörn were chatting over beers with Bastion watching intently. Lena and Emily were cuddling on a sofa and watching a holographic television feed that was projected in the air over the train tracks. Aleksandra smiled softly at her comrades, her newfound brothers in arms. She was the newest among them, but she had heard from Winston that someone new would be joining their little band of outlaws. She wondered if Genji's brother had finally come around, or if they had gotten that DJ on board yet. 

"Ah, everyone? If I can have your attention, please!" Winston's voice called out from the entrance Zarya had walked through just moments ago. She turned around and watched as the gorilla entered the hideout, company in tow. "I'd like to introduce our newest ally! Lynx, why don't you say hello?"

"Don't mind if I do," the omnic said, looking directly at Zarya. "Hey there, Aleksandra. Long time, no see."

"Lynx." Zarya nodded her head in greeting, stone-faced. She kept her mouth shut, but Lynx was the last person she expected to see. Her heart was pounding and she didn't understand why. Why would seeing this robot throw her off? 

"You two know each other?" Lena piped up, zipping over to shake Lynx's hand quickly, before returning to the couch.

"We met once," Zarya said tersely.

"That's one way of saying we traveled across the globe together." Lynx's ears twitched slightly. Zarya couldn't tell if they were agitated or saddened. Regardless, her heart sunk slightly, much to her annoyance.

"I see you have not been destroyed. That is good."

" _Very_ observant! You're quite good at that, aren't you?" Lynx snarked, walking past Zarya, clasping a hand on her shoulder when they stopped at her side. "I'm looking forward to working with you again, _Cолнышко_."

"Fucking robot," Zarya muttered as Lynx walked off.

•••

Lynx crouched down next to Zarya behind a barricade, bullets whizzing past their twitching ears.

"I need to get closer to that computer bank if we want to hack it!" They shouted over the sound of gunfire, their metal fingers touching Zarya's knee gently. Zarya nodded and fired a particle bomb at their enemies, giving Lynx cover fire. The omnic dashed to their objective and set to work, praying that their surly companion would protect them. Within seconds, they had succeeded, and the Talon base's defense protocols had been disabled. Shortly after, Zarya finished cutting down their enemies and turned to Lynx. 

"All set," Lynx said, their ears and posture relaxing. 

"Tracer, Genji, you are good to go," Zarya said into the comms. She then looked at Lynx and noticed something potentially worrying. A part of their leg had been damaged by gunfire, and wires were sparking.

"Well that's not good," Lynx said, panicking slightly. 

"How do I fix it?!" Zarya asked, panicking significantly.

If Lynx had a mouth, they would have smiled at that.

•••

"Aw, you came to visit! How sweet of you," Lynx said as Aleksandra entered their room. Zarya couldn't tell if they were mocking her or being sincere, but either way she wished that she didn't _have_ to check on Lynx. She wished that her mind hadn't been screaming at her to check on the omnic and make sure they were doing alright.

"I do not like people dying on my watch," Aleksandra said, looking at the wall, which had suddenly become very interesting. Technically, the statement was the truth. Just not the whole truth.

"A busted leg is an easy fix. Busted head on the other hand..."

"Is what you will get from me if you get hurt out there again." Zarya glared at Lynx. Her eyes betrayed her to the resting hacker. Lynx could see that it had been eating at Aleksandra, and that she didn't even know what damage to an omnic could be repaired and what couldn't. They supposed it made sense not knowing, for someone who had never seen omnics outside of a war. They took Zarya's hand in their own and tilted their head.

"Thank you, Aleksandra. I mean it. When I first met you, I don't think you'd ever have looked out for an omnic's safety. Now you've looked out for mine twice."

"Maybe someday you will return the favor, Lynx." Aleksandra turned on her heel and stomped off, failing once more to hide that she cared. 

Lynx couldn't help but notice that Zarya used their name.

•••

"I cannot believe that you have brought me back here," Zarya grumbled, folding her arms over her chest and watching passing omnics through the window with suspicion.

"It's my home, Aleksandra. I got homesick, and I wanted to bring my bestest buddy in the whole wide world with me." Lynx typed away at their keyboard, looking through data on the computer at speeds far too fast for Zarya to keep up with. 

"We are not friends," she growled, looking at the living room's tasteful green and blue furnishings. She wondered why an omnic would care to decorate a home. Why an omnic would even care about aesthetics over utility.

"Aren't we?" Lynx turned to look at Zarya, craning their arms behind their head. "Then why did you come to a nation you seemingly despise at my request? Why did you visit me while my leg was damaged? Why do you look out for me, if we aren't friends?"

Zarya was silent, searching for an answer. She didn't know why she did those things. She just did them. She didn't know why she worried whenever Lynx was in danger, or why she spent time with them outside of missions or _why_ she... why she was friends with an omnic.

"You are _different_. That is why. You are not like most omnics," she reasoned, her voice softer than usual. She put her hand on Lynx's desk and, for the first time, smiled at them. Only a half smile, if that, but it was progress.

"I'm not different, Aleksandra. If you interacted with more of my kind, you'd realize that. Maybe you'd make more friends that way."

Her smile faltered and she tore her gaze away from Lynx. She didn't say anything for the rest of the evening, but she didn't complain again either. Her mind was too busy sorting through everything. Trying to make sense of it all. Trying to figure out the real reason that she cared. Late at night, drifting off to sleep on the couch as Lynx went for a walk, an answer came to her. It wasn't the answer she wanted.

"I am in _love_ with an omnic..." Aleksandra whispered to herself before she slipped into a dream. She dreamt of cool metal, rabbit ears and a familiar soft green jumpsuit.

•••

The rest of their days in Numbani passed without excitement. Lynx Seventeen showed Zarya all of the most interesting sites, and to their relief, she held back any negative comments and paranoia. Aleksandra seemed almost accepting of the idea that humans and omnics could coexist in peace. In truth, she was wondering if that peace could last. If it could spread to her own home. If, somehow, someday, she could bring Lynx to her own home.

They stopped at the museum late in the day, their last night before returning to King's Row. Lynx was looking at a video screen showcasing the feats of the original Doomfist, the only hero to wear the gauntlet. To their right stood Zarya, watching something else entirely. Just a few feet away were an omnic and a human, holding hands. The human's head was resting on the omnic's shoulder. They seemed happy, Aleksandra realized. At peace. She wanted to look at Lynx, but she couldn't bear it, so she looked at the couple instead. Imagined what it would be like to... 

"Don't say anything rude, please," Lynx requested quietly. "I'd rather we not get kicked out of here."

"I was not going to," Zarya said in a low voice, looking back to her friend. "I just did not know that..."

"That omnics can fall in love?" The question stabbed her in the heart, far more painful than any injury she had faced in the war. She could hear the accusatory tone a mile away, and she knew that it wasn't undeserved.

"That our people can be together in that way. I have never seen it before," Zarya explained. She looked strangely vulnerable. Soft. Like Lynx could touch her and she wouldn't protest or pull away as she did when they first knew each other. So they took her hand in their own, and pretended not to see her cheeks go scarlet.

"It's more common than you'd think. London, New York, even Sweden. Humans and omnics loving each other happens everywhere, Aleksandra."

"Not in Russia," she whispered, more to herself than to Lynx. She pulled her hand out of the omnic's grasp gently, letting her arm fall to her side.

•••

They returned to Overwatch HQ the next day with hardly one unnecessary word between them. Days passed, then weeks, and before they knew it the holidays had sprung up on them. Aleksandra had no family left to celebrate with. Lynx had no family at all. While Tracer and Winston prepared a party for everyone the night before Christmas, Zarya and Lynx found themselves wandering off, above ground and into the cold, snowy London night. 

"Not a fan of decorating?" Lynx asked nonchalantly.

"Not without my family," Zarya said quickly, and without intention. She stopped dead in her tracks the moment that she said it, and her mind went blank. With one response she had cut through the tension that was webbing over them throughout the past few weeks. 

"I'm sorry," Lynx said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I am so sorry, Aleksandra."

"It is not your fault. I... I do not even know who's fault it is, or if it even matters anymore. I just wish I wasn't alone." Her eyes cast downwards, avoiding Lynx at all costs. The first time she had told Lynx not to apologize, it had been out of anger and frustration. This time, however, blanketed by the snow and the multi-colored lights that hung above them, she spoke with understanding. There was no one she could blame, and so she had blamed an entire race. 

"You're not alone. Even if you don't consider Overwatch your family, _I'll_ stick with you. I'm your friend, Aleksandra." Every word was carefully chosen, so as not to speak the whole truth. Lynx knew what they really wanted to say, but they knew they couldn't. _Let's go back. We can just sit by ourselves in another room, away from the others. I love you._

But they didn't say that. They didn't risk it.

"I am sorry," Zarya whispered, leaning in without realizing. "For everything I have said to you. For everyone that I..."

"It's okay, Aleksandra. I know," Lynx whispered, touching their forehead to her's. "I know." 

When they pulled away from each other, what felt like eons later but was only a minute at the most, they turned their eyes to the left and saw that they had stopped outside of a storefront window. Soft golden light showcased various gifts and treats. They looked back to each other, and without a word needed, knew to go inside. 

•••

They came back to the others with Zarya's arms full of gifts, which were placed under a small pop-up tree Torbjörn had set up. The others didn't bring attention to the change in demeanor between Zarya and Lynx, and for that they were grateful. They spent the rest of the night enjoying the company that they had, reveling in the life and excitement in the room. To everyone's surprise, Zarya even wrapped an arm around Bastion and sang off-key as he accompanied her with beeps and whistles. It was a good night, even if there were still words unspoken between the two.

But before long, they found that they were alone once more, the only two still awake while the others rested. Lynx and Zarya slipped Zarya's quarters, where they wouldn't be as likely to disturb anyone. 

They sat on Aleksandra's bed in silence for a moment. Lynx's ears were low, Zarya's hands were clammy and shaking. At first they didn't say anything, but they both felt it. Something pulling at them, from deep within their chests. Whirlwinds of thoughts and emotions that were tearing at their chests, aching to escape. To be heard.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm in love you."

They spoke in unison, and fell silent together. They simply stared at one another, minds empty but hearts pounding. Aleksandra's lips curled slowly upwards into a gentle smile. Lynx's ears stuck straight up. They took Zarya's hand in their own and looked her dead in the eye. Aleksandra said nothing, but she pressed her forehead against Lynx's and broke out into a giggle. It was the most beautiful sound Lynx had ever heard.

"I am in love with an omnic," Zarya whispered. She had said it once before, but never to their face. This time she made sure they heard it.

"It's more common than you'd think," Lynx had told her once, and now told her a second time.

"Falling for _you_? No, I think I am one of the only women foolish enough to do that," Zarya laughed again, and Lynx joined her.


End file.
